Hope
by Youngbountygirl
Summary: After Yami Bakura's defeat against the Pharaoh, he is now a prisoner with nothing left to do, but rot. There just seems to be no hope left in the thief king, except one memory that this thief seems to be clutching onto for some reason that might be enough for him to possibly change his ways.


**This is a one shot I decided to do, while I was on my way from vacation. I was always thinking in my head of what would happen, if this happened at some point 3000 years ago when Atem was young. I don't know, it was just something that just happened to be in my head. Review please!**

The place was cold, dark and damp. It didn't matter, since this wasn't the first time _he_ had been in a place like this. Of course, he wasn't just a wondering soul inside the millennium ring anymore. Now, he was in a dungeon, a prison, for what? For daring to go against the Pharaoh? For taking control and using an innocent young boy that looked exactly like him? For harming the Pharaoh's loved ones? For avenging his people, who were slaughtered by the hands of the Pharaoh's uncle and left unpunished? It could be all of those reasons.

It all started when he made that deal with the devil himself, Zorc. He promised to avenge the thief king's people, his family and friends. The thief king only lived through vengeance, to make the Pharaoh suffer and let justice be served. Then, what is _justice_? Anyone could define it and screw it in ways that would gain _their_ favor. Of course, _he_ did with avenging Kul Elna by destroying the Pharaoh. Why couldn't he do that with Aknadin, who was mainly responsible for the destruction and his suffering.

_Suffering._ Yeah, that word made the imprisoned thief laugh bitterly, his hair almost covering his face. Torture was nothing to him. He already suffered 3000 years of it, along with losing everything precious to him as a young child. The Pharaoh never suffered any of that until he sealed his soul inside the puzzle to stop him, the thief king, from destroying Egypt.

There was absolutely no humanity left in the thief now._ Non._ Actually, there was one _thing_ the thief king did have. Just like the Pharaoh, _his_ memories were wiped clean, besides the memories Zorc gave to him. Though, there was one the thief king, for some reason, remembered more than any memory Zorc ever gave to him. It was a blur, but also clear. By reflects, the tortured thief grasped onto that last bit of memory he had left that he remembered from so long ago.

* * *

After the destruction of Kul Elna, the young thief king Bakura lived on his own. He had to live by stealing food and supplies. Of course, he was very slick and skilled with stealing bread, cheese or whatever he could find to eat and drink. At this point, anything was _eatable_. Nobody would care to adopt him or lend him a hand. _Asking_ only meant more harassment, as if he didn't have enough already.

Bakura mainly entered gambling places like the Saloon to con other people and take their money. He needed the money to buy food and nobody would ever think that a child would _ever_ be cunning enough to cheat. Bakura also carried a small knife, he jacked from a local villager of this town, just in case anyone he conned decided to _play dirty_ with him.

Bakura sat cross-legged at a small corner of the Saloon with five wooden blocks on a small table in front of him. He waited for the next sucker to play the game, smiling so innocently.

"What's this?" Bakura heard a local village boy asked, who seemed to be his age with weird-looking hair and curious violet eyes with a hint of red in them.

"It's a block game. One of these has a darker color," Bakura explained, showing one of the blocks that had a darker side to it. "The rest are normal colored." He showed the other blocks that was the same light brown color as all the other wooden blocks. "I mix these and you have to guess which one is the one with the darker color, but it'll cost ya. I will bet this much!" He showed a bag full of money. "And you have to bet whatever money you've got!"

"Cool! I don't have much, but I will bet this coin," the boy replied, showing a single gold coin. Money signs appeared in Bakura's eyes, lusting for that single gold coin that could give him food for an _entire_ month! _This kid, whoever he is, MUST be loaded!_

"We have a deal," Bakura replied, taking the coin, then making sure the blocks were facing their lighter side before mixing them. Because the blocks were so close to him, he was able to switch the dark-sided block with another block that was on his skirt, under the table, without the player knowing. The blocks were then lined up. "Pick a block."

"I can't," the boy replied. "The darker block is neither of those."

"You calling me a-" Bakura threatened before the village boy instantly used one swift hand to flip over all of the blocks in front to reveal that they were all the same color.

"_How'd you do that!?_ I'm normally able to catch when someone cheats on me, but you're good! You _gotta_ show me!" The village boy said almost excitedly as Bakura stared at the boy with such a puzzled look. The village boy leaned over and whispered, _"I won't tell"_ showing a wink and a wide smirk.

_"Only if you tell me how you caught onto my _trick_,"_ Bakura whispered back.

"I studied that particular block, the lines of it and pattern. Father always tells me to _always_ be aware of my surroundings!" the boy bragged.

"What's your name?"

"I'm not supposed to give away my name, but you can call me _Yami_."

"Why can you not give away your name?"

_"I don't know,"_ Yami replied, shrugging. "But I like the name Yami better than my real name."

"Well, if you like it better, I suppose I can't make you think otherwise, but you have to swear it that you will tell me your real name, if you want to know how to be a con artist."

"Okay! I swear it!"

Bakura began demonstrating to his new friend his con techniques. This _Yami_ was a fast learner and began trying to con other people as well, gaining money. Bakura watched his new friend using the techniques he was taught, but instead of using his innocence to get the money, he used his cunning and arrogance to fool other people that he was _too full of himself_ to possibly win. This kid ended up conning more money from other people than Bakura ever had, making him slightly jealous of this _character_ and regretting teaching those techniques.

It was not long before Yami walked toward Bakura with his naughty smirk, asking, "you wanna celebrate?"

"With what?" Bakura asked.

The two boys bought some bread and fruit with the money they conned off of the local gamblers. Bakura's jealousy was forgotten and Bakura began liking Yami again. They walked side by side and Yami began leaning toward Bakura.

_"Atem,"_ Yami whispered as Bakura looked toward his friend, who winked at him._ "That's my name."_

"I like Yami better," Bakura said.

"Same here."

The boys laughed and ran across the dirty street. Bakura shouted, "follow me!" Yami instantly followed his new friend.

Yami was led to a secret hideout by the Nile, located under the cliff. They sat next to each other, eating the food they bought. Bakura _smiled_ for the first time, since his village was destroyed. Yami was fun and cool, never ignoring the young thief or wanting to throw things at him. He was _friendly_ and fun.

"I should go home before father finds out I snuck out," Yami said, getting up.

"Will you come back?" Bakura asked sadly.

"Sure! If I sneak out again, I will find you. I like you."

"Then, goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

Yami ran from the cave, leaving the young soon-to-be thief king. He did come back several times, then one day was taken by one of the local the guards and never to be seen again. Bakura cried when he saw his one and only friend being snatched from him and began growing hatred toward the guards. He'd often throw rocks at them. Yami was his only friend and this friend was taken away from him. _Why?_

Bakura never knew what happened to Yami until after he made that deal with Zorc and saw that same boy being crowned Pharaoh so many years later. Who would have thought this boy, who was once his best friend, would eventually become his longtime enemy? If only his village wasn't destroyed. If only he could go back in time, then him and Yami could run away together, forgetting all the pain and suffering. Now Yami, the Pharaoh, was enjoying his life in the Underworld, while the thief king was stuck behind bars in the darkness.

_"Bakura..."_ a voice called to him. The thief looked up, smirking at the Pharaoh, who was looking down at him with those violet eyes.

"What brings you here, Pharaoh? Here to laugh at my torment?" Bakura asked with a sickly grin.

"I'm actually here to play a game," the Pharaoh said, getting out five wooden blocks. He showed one of them having a darker side. "One of them has a darker side." He showed the rest of them didn't have a darker side behind the blocks. "I will switch them around and you have to guess which one of them is the block with the darker side." The Pharaoh sat down cross-legged, then began switching them around quickly, then lined them up. "Choose."

_"Neither of them are the right block. You're hiding one of them,"_ Bakura muttered bitterly. "What are you trying to prove here?"

"Nothing at all. You know, it's because of what you taught me that helped me stop Zorc and save my friends."

_"Good for you."_

"Is it my fault that you're behind these bars?"

Bakura looked up angrily and asked, "are you insane?"

_"Prehaps,"_ the Pharaoh replied quietly, lightly grabbing one of the bars with his hand, showing keys behind it. He looked up. "When Aknadin sacrificed your people, he sent them somewhere in the Spirit World. It's a dangerous world and I'm set on a mission to find them and repay for what he's done. I need someone, who knows how to survive it from whatever unknown creatures that come our way."

"Why should I trust you?"

"You should be asking _me_ that," the Pharaoh said, showing a cocky smile. "My priests, I know, asked me the same question about you and do you know what my answer was?"

"What?"

"Because I owe him a debt to pay."

"You don't owe me anything for what your bastard uncle did!"

"That's not what I'm talking about. The debt I owe you is the debt of leaving you and never returning to the village. I think if I was never caught that day, you wouldn't be behind these bars."

Bakura sighed, then got up on his feet as the Pharaoh unlocked the gate. He couldn't bring himself to leave the thief king in darkness again, already having suffered 3000 years of it inside the puzzle. Yami could not shake the feeling that Bakura did still has some _hope_ left and he was to be the one to bring it back. Yugi had taught Yami kindness, compassion and mercy, now it was Yami's turn to teach it to Bakura.

**A/N: Anyone who concludes this of being Darkshipping or whatever shipping will find their heads cut off and fed to Anubis and not the one from Pyramid of Light either... jk lol, but seriously, this is not a one shot that supports any Yami/Atem x Yami Bakura/the thief king. I also am aware that Yami is a Japanese name and it would be impossible for Atem to want to nickname himself that, but screw language, this is my story. Just pretend it's Ancient Egyptian for Darkness or Dark. **

**I actually thought of the idea of this possibly happening, because I never really thought that Yami Bakura was already cold and heartless. I do believe that, after 3000 years of darkness, he also turned into a veggitable, but the results of it were worse than Yami Yugi's torture. For Yami Yugi, he didn't have a demon inside of him and I think that's the main reason why Yami Bakura just became a dark pit, never having any hope again. Though, that isn't to say Yami Bakura never had any hope of turning good. I think he did have hope and, if he and Yami bonded some sort of friendship in the past, maybe Yami Bakura would've had some sort of humanity left. Sometimes just being kind is every person's true strength. Just remember that Yami was only willing to free Yami Bakura, because he proved to still have some humanity and hope left in him, not because they once shared a friendship (though, that is part of the reason). **


End file.
